Friday, April 30, 2021

[ARC REVIEW] The Speckled Feather by Johanna Ries ( @NorthSouthBooks , @NetGalley )

 







Title:  The Speckled Feather

Author:  Johanna Ries

Genre:  Children's / Friendship / Animals

Year Published: 2020

Year Read:  2021

Publisher: 
 NorthSouth Books

Source:  eARC (NetGalley)

Content Rating:  Ages 5+ (One Intense Scene)

Buy on:  Bookshop  





I would like to thank NorthSouth Books and NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

So, after years of not being able to read any children’s books that dealt with animals (which are some of my all-time favorite children’s books), I finally came upon a children’s book that dealt with animals called “The Speckled Feather” by Johanna Ries. I must say that I really enjoyed this cute little story about friendship!

The story starts off with three birds named Ade, Emem and Nuru who all live on the back of an elephant in the savanna.  One day however, a beautiful speckled feather is blown into their midst and when one of the birds picks up the feather and sticks it to themselves, the other birds quickly got jealous and they wanted the speckled feather for themselves, despite the fact that this is ruining their friendship with each other.

Will the birds stop fighting over the feather to save their friendship?

Find out in this story!

Wow!  This book was both fantastic and cute to read through!  Johanna Ries has done an excellent job at both writing and illustrating this book!  I just loved the way that Johanna Ries wrote this book as the narrative was simple yet impactful as the story shows the importance of friendship and how friends can argue with each other if something came between them.  I was actually sitting on the edge of my seat, wondering if the birds will regain their friendship again, despite the appearance of the speckled feather.  Johanna Ries also did a fantastic job at illustrating this book as the animals in this book look so realistic, especially the elephant that the three birds live on.  I also loved the abstract look of the savanna as it has a simplistic look, but still conveys the appearance of the savanna pretty well.

Parents might be a bit concerned about one scene where the main characters are being chased by a predator.  While this scene was pretty short, some smaller children might be a bit scared by the main characters being in any danger.  Parents might want to read this scene first before reading it to their children.

Overall, “The Speckled Feather” is a fantastic children’s book about the importance of friendship and how your friendship is much more important than any materialistic thing.  I would recommend this book to children ages five and up due to one intense scene in this book.


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Wednesday, April 28, 2021

Waiting on Wednesday #204: Luck of the Titanic by Stacey Lee and Unwritten by Alicia J. Novo

 Hello everyone! "Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, that is hosted by Breaking the Spine and the purpose of this event is that we spotlight upcoming releases of books that we are excited for!  This will also tie into Wishful Ending's Can't Wait Wednesday post!









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This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selections are:




    

Luck of the Titanic

By: Stacey Lee

Expected Publication Date: May 4th, 2021

Buy on:   Bookshop


From the critically acclaimed author of The Downstairs Girl comes the richly imagined story of Valora and Jamie Luck, twin British - Chinese acrobats traveling aboard the Titanic on its ill fated maiden voyage.

Southampton, 1912: Seventeen-year-old British-Chinese Valora Luck has quit her job and smuggled herself aboard the Titanic with two goals in mind: to reunite with her twin brother Jamie--her only family now that both their parents are dead--and to convince a part-owner of the Ringling Brothers Circus to take the twins on as acrobats. Quick-thinking Val talks her way into opulent firstclass accommodations and finds Jamie with a group of fellow Chinese laborers in third class. But in the rigidly stratified world of the luxury liner, Val's ruse can only last so long, and after two long years apart, it's unclear if Jamie even wants the life Val proposes. Then, one moonless night in the North Atlantic, the unthinkable happens--the supposedly unsinkable ship is dealt a fatal blow--and Val and her companions suddenly find themselves in a race to survive.

Stacey Lee, master of historical fiction, brings a fresh perspective to an infamous tragedy, loosely inspired by the recently uncovered account of six Titanic survivors of Chinese descent.


The fact that this book is about a young woman of Chinese descent trying to get on the Titanic is fascinating to me since I love reading books that feature diverse protagonists!







Unwritten

By: Alicia J. Novo

Expected Publication Date: May 8th, 2021

Buy on:  Bookshop

Books whisper to Beatrix Alba. But they aren’t the reason she has never fit in. Bullied at home and school, she keeps a secret—a power of violence and darkness.

When the spell that keeps her hidden fails, she’s catapulted into the Zweeshen, a realm where all tales live, and her dream of meeting her favorite characters comes true. But wishes are tricky, and behind its wonder and whimsy, the Zweeshen is under attack. A character is burning bookworlds in pursuit of a weapon to rule both stories and storytellers. To succeed, he needs a riddle in Beatrix's keeping.

Now he’s hunting her down.

Joining forces with William, a cursed conjurer, Beatrix must face an enemy who knows her every weakness in a realm where witches play with time, Egyptian gods roam, and Regency heroines lead covert operations. And with her darkness as the only weapon, she may have to sacrifice everything to save a world that rejects her.

The fact that this book is about the character being able to jump into stories is enough for me to check out!







So, what upcoming books are you looking forward to?  Please respond below!






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Tuesday, April 27, 2021

Top Ten Tuesday #88: Top 10 Creepy Animal Book Covers (or Covers that have the Creepiest Animals Ever)!

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme that was formerly created at The Broke and the Bookish but has now moved to That Artsy Reader Girl. 




Follow me through Blogger and Bloglovin to reach this goal!


This week's top 10 Tuesday topic is Top 10 Creepy Animal Book Covers (or Covers that have the Creepiest Animals Ever)!

ANIMALS!  I just love reading about ANIMALS!  This week's theme is about listing books that are either about animals or have animals on the covers and I decided to go with listing the CREEPIEST covers that features animals on them (because I love anything CREEPY)!





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Ko-fi // PayPal // Society6 // Redbubble // Bookshop








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Wednesday, April 21, 2021

Waiting on Wednesday #203: Realm Breaker by Victoria Aveyard and Blade of Secrets by Tricia Levenseller

 

Hello everyone! "Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, that is hosted by Breaking the Spine and the purpose of this event is that we spotlight upcoming releases of books that we are excited for!  This will also tie into Wishful Ending's Can't Wait Wednesday post!









Follow me through Blogger and Bloglovin to reach this goal!



This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selections are:




    

Realm Breaker

By: Victoria Aveyard

Expected Publication Date: May 4th, 2021

Buy on:   Bookshop


A strange darkness grows in Allward.

Even Corayne an-Amarat can feel it, tucked away in her small town at the edge of the sea.

She soon discovers the truth: She is the last of an ancient lineage—and the last hope to save the world from destruction. But she won’t be alone. Even as darkness falls, she is joined by a band of unlikely companions:

A squire, forced to choose between home and honor.
An immortal, avenging a broken promise.
An assassin, exiled and bloodthirsty.
An ancient sorceress, whose riddles hide an eerie foresight.
A forger with a secret past.
A bounty hunter with a score to settle.

Together they stand against a vicious opponent, invincible and determined to burn all kingdoms to ash, and an army unlike anything the realm has ever witnessed.


I always love reading books about a band of heroes!  And it's by Victoria Aveyard, so I'm definitely checking this out!






Blade of Secrets 

By: Tricia Levenseller

Expected Publication Date: May 4th, 2021

Buy on:  Bookshop

Eighteen-year-old Ziva prefers metal to people. She spends her days tucked away in her forge, safe from society and the anxiety it causes her, using her magical gift to craft unique weapons imbued with power.

Then Ziva receives a commission from a powerful warlord, and the result is a sword capable of stealing its victims' secrets. A sword that can cut far deeper than the length of its blade. A sword with the strength to topple kingdoms. When Ziva learns of the warlord’s intentions to use the weapon to enslave all the world under her rule, she takes her sister and flees.

Joined by a distractingly handsome mercenary and a young scholar with extensive knowledge of the world's known magics, Ziva and her sister set out on a quest to keep the sword safe until they can find a worthy wielder or a way to destroy it entirely.

A teenage blacksmith with social anxiety accepts a commission from the wrong person and is forced to go on the run to protect the world from the most powerful magical sword she's ever made.
 

YASSS!!! A fantasy book about social anxiety!  Can't wait to read this book!







So, what upcoming books are you looking forward to?  Please respond below!






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